Third of Antarctic ice shelf area at collapse risk due to global warming: Study

They noted that when melted ice accumulates on the surface of ice shelves, it can make them fracture and collapse spectacularly.

Over a third of the Antarctic's ice shelf area may be at risk of collapsing into the sea if global temperatures reach four degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to a study. The research, published in the Geophysical Research Letters journal, found that 34 % of the area of all Antarctic ice shelves – around half a million square kilometers – including 67 % of ice shelf area on the Antarctic Peninsula, would be at risk of destabilisation under such a warming scenario. The team also identified Larsen C – the largest remaining ice shelf on the peninsula, which split to form the enormous A68 iceberg in 2017 – as one of four ice shelves that would be particularly threatened in a warmer climate.